


Sharing is Caring

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, I don't even know what to tag this, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-21
Updated: 2013-04-21
Packaged: 2017-12-09 03:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/769313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ori loves the princes, both of them just as much.<br/>He's resigned himself on never having either of them.<br/>That was before the lot of them went on a foolish and dangerous quest for a lost kingdom.<br/>That was before Kili asked to kiss him.<br/>He shouldn't have agreed, really. It could only bring troubles.<br/>The princes were worth trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sharing is Caring

**Author's Note:**

> Been working on that one for a while, not fully happy with it, but hey~  
> polyamoury!  
> This fandom needs more of it :D (every fandoms need more of it, really, but I'll start with this one)

Ori had always watched them from a distance, always the two of them together. Fili-and-Kili. It would have been criminal to separate them, even in thought, so they were always Fili-and-Kili in his mind, until after a few months he changed it to Kili-and-Fili. He knew he'd never have either of them, but given a choice, he'd have gone for Kili, his warm smile, his sense of humour, the way he moved like he was always dancing or fighting. Fili moved that way too, but with a greater sense of gravity, as if his dance was a more serious one... and it was of course. Fili was heir to a throne lost long ago, prince of a country he had never seen.

Ori wanted them both, and could have neither. He was nothing, a scribbler, a copyist, a writer, an artist, a _nothing_. They didn't even know he existed, and never would. No harm in looking though. So he looked. A lot.

 

* * *

 

When he heard that King Thorin was looking for people to follow him on a quest to Erebor, Ori decided to go, without telling his brothers. He wanted to become part of history, or at least to have a chance to write how other people had become a part of it. Of course Dori and Nori heard of it and decided to come too, to protect him, but he didn't mind. Their coming along meant that they weren't trying to change his mind.

Though he almost changed his mind on his own when, after arriving in their future burglar's house, he saw Kili and Fili. He wanted to run away and never turn back, because there was no way he was spending several weeks around these two. Not when the three of them were clearly the youngest, which meant the brothers would probably want to talk to him, and oh, wouldn't that be the sweetest torture ever. Or they might just ignore him, with all the interesting people present, and that would hurt of course, but it would be easier in the end, he knew it.

The food was good, and the beer even better, and present in large quantities. Why a hobbit living alone had so much alcohol on hand, Ori wasn't sure he wanted to know, but it made him feel rather sorry for the little fellow. Well, little. It rather hurt Ori's pride as a dwarf that he was almost the same height as a halfling.

But he didn't have much time to dwell on that because for some reason, Kili decided to sit by his side at dinner. Kili. Next to him. So close they could touch, and actually did a few time, since the small dinning-room was crowded. Kili who smiled at him and laughed with him and treated him as if they'd known each other all their lives. Of course it was just the beer speaking, Ori knew it. It didn't mean a thing.

He tried hard not to imagine that maybe, just maybe, he could become friend with Kili, friend or more. It required great effort. In the end, he decided that it'd be best if he just avoided the prince for the rest of the evening, lest he should accidentally kiss him, and wouldn't that be awful. So at the first occasion he had, he went away from the young prince and instead decided to get close to Dwalin who was just as fascinating, in a very different way. Ori had been admiring him too, mostly because he was _everything_ a dwarf was supposed to be.

Surprisingly, they soon found common ground to talk. That common ground being a love for old stories about long dead heroes, and shared anecdotes about Nori and the trouble he could cause.

It was a nice evening, all things considered, and Ori wouldn't mind it terribly if the rest of the quest was to be like it.

 

* * *

 

And it was, at first. Everything was so nice. Ori spent his days staring at Kili and Fili, seeing them from closer than ever before, and enjoying every moment of it. He'd seen them regal and graceful from a distance in the past. Now he saw they were also rather silly lads, who could be terribly stupid on occasions, with poor taste in jokes, though they were rarely _mean_ as such (except with the hobbit maybe, but it was just hard to resist teasing _him_ anyway). With each new day, Ori was a little more in love, and he found it difficult to resist his impulse to go near Kili and talk to him, touch him, kiss him.

Which was why he was so glad of the friend he'd found in mister Dwalin. It gave him a distraction, something to do when he was worried that he might actually snap, and go to the princes. It didn't hurt that, more often than not, Dwalin would ride in a place that allowed them to see the princes perfectly well. It was all Ori could ask for, really.

Then, a week into their journey, Kili started talking to him. Not much at first, just a few comment here and then, as if he were just trying to include him in the group's conversations. Ori tried to ignore him, of course. It didn't mean anything after all.

When Kili started sitting next to him at dinner, much closer than was needed, and always found casual ways of touching him accidentally, Ori started wondering. When Kili asked to see the diary he kept about their travel, and one of the prince's hands found its way on his knee, Ori started to wonder very hard.

Thank the Maker, it had happened while they were both on watch duty (though that alone was suspicious, usually Kili would do it with his brother) and there was no one to see anything. Ori didn't want to imagine his brothers' reaction, should they discover them like this.

“Is it okay?” Kili asked him, almost shyly.

“Is what okay?” Ori stammered, hoping he wasn't blushing too much.

Kili's hand left his knee for his thigh, massaging it slightly. Well. Now Ori was certainly blushing.

“I know you've been doing a lot of watching,” the prince whispered, leaning toward him. “I'm not sure who you were actually watching, me or Fili, but I was hoping... That is to say, if it was me you were looking at... was it me?”

“It was you,” Ori said, and it wasn't a lie. He'd been looking at both of them, sure, but at Kili even more. “I watched you.”

“I watch you too,” the prince confessed with a bright smile. “All the time. You're so pretty it almost hurts to look at you, but I can't stop. I look at you and I want to kiss you and touch you. Can... Can I kiss you?”

Ori just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He still wasn't sure it was not all some sort of dream. He had dreams like that, sometimes, though usually they both wore less clothing in these, and there weren't eleven dwarves, a hobbit and a wizard sleeping next to them in his dreams.

But it didn't matter, because now Kili's lips were on his, shy and sweet, as if the prince too didn't dare to believe it. Ori put a hand on the other's cheek, caressing it while dragging him closer. Kili took the hint and started properly kissing him, with more enthusiasm than skill, but Ori decided he didn't mind too much, that the fact _he was kissing one of the princes he'd been in love with for a few years_ was well worth having his lips bitten too much or a clumsy tongue doing things that weren't exactly agreeable, but still managed to feel rather sweet, in a way.

And after a few minutes at it, Kili started being a bit better at it, which was encouraging, really. They couldn't get any further than that of course, not with everyone around them, not when everyone knew that Thorin would awake at the slightest noise, and that the wizard probably didn't sleep at all. There was time anyway, the road was still long. Ori was sure they'd manage to find some time alone before they reached Erebor.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, things hadn't changed. Ori still rode next to Dwalin, and he still spent more time than was necessary or wise looking at the brothers. In the daylight, he almost doubted anything had happened the night before, until Kili turned toward him and smiled, the same bright smile he'd had when Ori had said he was watching him.

“So it was Kili after all,” Dwalin said next to him, startling him. “I wasn't sure. Ah, don't be shy, lad. He's a fine young dwarf, our princeling, and I won't blame you for liking him. But for a moment I feared it was Fili you were after, I'll admit.”

Ori shrugged. He did not want to lie, but saying the truth didn't strike him as a very smart move at the moment.

“Why did you fear I liked Fili?” he still asked, out of sheer curiosity. But Dwalin didn't answer, and instead just stared at the blond prince, looking the way Ori probably did when he looked at the brothers.

And, oh, that certainly explained things.

“I'll help you, if you want,” the young scholar offered. “If you want me to, of course.”

“Nothing to help me with, lad. I'm old enough to be his father,” Dwalin grumbled. But he didn't even try to deny anything, Ori noted. That must have been a great mark of trust toward him, he decided, and he'd have to be worthy of that trust. He didn't insist though, feeling that now was not the time for it.

That night at dinner, Ori found himself stuck between Kili and Fili. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Warm, mostly. He knew he must have been blushing a lot, though if asked about it, he could always say that it was because of Kili's hand on his back and the way their legs touch, and also because his brothers were _right there_ and glaring at the three of them. But really, Fili was to blame for his red cheeks quite as much as Kili. The blond prince was so close, and _touching_ him. Not that it meant a thing of course, the brothers were just... very physical dwarves anyway.

"I hear you've given in to my brother's... attention, then?" Fili whispered to his ear, a mischievous grin on his lips. "Well, I suppose he could do worse. You're pretty enough, and certainly a lot smarter than he is, so you'll have to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, eh? I'm counting on you."

"I think Kili's clever enough to know on his own not to act stupid," Ori protested quietly, and he was rewarded by the dark haired prince putting a hand on his hip. "I couldn't ever like someone stupid, that's for sure."

That earned him a bright smile from Kili, who clearly thought it a great compliment that he was "not stupid", and a grin from Fili, who seemed to approve of Ori defending the other dwarf. The scholar wondered if it had been some sort of a test, but it didn't matter, since he'd clearly passed it.

“Well, you've got terrible taste, that's official,” Fili said, putting an arm around Ori's shoulder. “If you ever decide you want a real dwarf to warm your bed, I'm right here.”

Ori blushed. It was a joke of course, and he forced a laugh while Kili protested and pushed Fili away. The brothers pretended to fight over him for a little while, until Dori decided he'd had enough of it all and came to Ori's rescue. As if the young dwarf wanted to be rescued, really. There were worse things in life than having two merry princes wrestling on top of him.

* * *

 

As much as he enjoyed having the two princes for himself, Ori knew that things could not end well if he did not act. Dwarves were normally selfish and greedy. They did not _share_ , and if Kili discovered that his lover also wanted his brother, it would not end well. He certainly could not afford to lose them both, not after all this time of wanting them.

After giving it a lot of thought, Ori decided that the best way to deal with it was to make sure Fili was no longer available. Certainly, if such a thing happened, the blond prince would have less time to spend with Kili and him, and with time, Ori would stop loving him. It was all nice and easy. And since he already knew that Dwalin had a clear fondness for the prince, and that Fili seemed to like the older dwarf quite a lot too, there was a plan forming in his little head.

He put it into action when they stopped at Rivendell. It was easy enough. A lot of hinting around Fili, a little bit of making sure that the prince had drunk a little (enough to agree to what would otherwise have seemed a bad idea, while still being sober enough that no one would blame any possible event on the alcohol). And it worked. At one point of the night, Dwalin and Fili disappeared, not that anyone beside Ori and Kili noticed.

“I know what you did,” the prince said with a grin, stealing a kiss from the scholar. “And you did well. They've been like that for years, neither daring to make the first move. I've told Fili to go to Dwalin, but he wouldn't listen to me.”

“I suppose you're too close to him to be impartial, so he couldn't trust you on that.”

“Or maybe he just thinks I'm stupid, whereas you are clever and good at observing people, so when you said Dwalin liked him, it had to be true.”

Ori frowned. “You're not stupid.”

“I'm not smart either. And that's okay, I don't mind. Got you to be clever for me now.”

That only made the younger dwarf want to protest more, but before he could say a thing Kili kissed him and oh, he had certainly improved a lot since that first time.

“They've got many empty rooms in here,” Kili whispered against his lips. “And it's getting late. No one will care if we... _disappear_ too. If you... if you want to?”

“You mean...”

“Only if you want to!” the prince quickly said, sounding half panicked. “I wouldn't force you... that is, if you don't want to... It's just, Mahal knows how long we have until uncle gets angry at the elves and we have to leave, and it might be the last time we'll have proper beds before Erebor, and... but if you don't want to, that's okay!”

Ori chuckled. “I want it too, don't worry.”

“Really?”

“I've wanted you since the first time I saw you, years ago,” the little scholar admitted. “And now, I can finally have you.”

“I didn't know... Why didn't you talk to me, back then?”

“I was just shy,” Ori lied. And it wasn't even a full lie. He had been shy. There was no need to mention that he had never dared to come near them because he might have kissed them both, which would have ruined his life for ever. “Let's not talk of the past, it just doesn't matter. What does matter, on the other hand, is that as you've said, this might be our last chance to have a bed and privacy in a long, long time.”

They exchanged a grin at that, and after making sure that no one was paying them any attention (Was that Dori attempting to flirt with _Gandalf_? Oh, Ori would just _have_ to tell Nori) the two boys left together.

They had each been shown a bedroom earlier in the evening, but Rivendell was a large place, and since they often had to stop for a kiss, it took them a while to get there. But once they had closed the door behind them, it all went very quick. They barely managed to make it to the bed, far too busy kissing and touching and just enjoying the fact that, for a few minutes, nothing else existed. Kili turned out to be a lot more shy and clumsy than Ori expected, though he put that on the fact that they had drank a bit, and that they were both nervous.

The young scholar didn't think twice about it, and just took control of the situation, much to Kili's joy apparently. His moans as Ori carefully prepared him left no doubt as to his enjoyment of the situation, and the surprise and affection on his face as his lover first breached him were something that Ori would not ever forget, not if he lived to four hundred.

And afterwards, Ori felt so happy and sated that he was quite sure he'd never want anyone else but Kili ever again.

* * *

 

Until the following morning, when he saw Fili coming for breakfast, looking smug and content. Not that Kili didn't look lovely (Ori had felt his heart clench at the sight of his lover, lying next to him in the pale morning light. Some things were too good, too beautiful to be true) but there was something about Fili, something in the way his braids were half undone, and how he had a hickey right where his neck met his shoulder, that made Ori want to rise up and kiss him fiercely.

Instead, he smiled at Kili and caressed his hand under the table. This was what he had, this was what he wanted, and he needed nothing more.

But of course, Fili had to come and sit on the other side of Ori, grinning and putting an arm around the smaller dwarf's shoulders.

“I think I ought to thank you, Ori,” he said. “You have been _most_ helpful last night. I got laid thanks to you, and probably will again many, many times. And as if that wasn't enough, you turned my baby brother into a true dwarf! And it was about time, too.”

Ori turned to Kili, eyes wide open.

“It... it was... was I your first?” he whispered, not sure if the idea pleased him or terrified him. Kili nodded, looking down and blushing. “You didn't say,” Ori said accusingly. “I didn't _know_!”

“Would it have changed anything if I had told you?”

“Yes. It would have changed the fact that I _didn't_ _know_.”

“Oh, like you tell me everything,” Kili grumbled, redder than ever.

The small scholar tensed at that, and removed his hand from his lover's. Kili didn't mean _that_ of course, he had no way of knowing, Ori had been so careful, no one knew. But he suddenly felt terrified. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe he should have lied to Kili, all those nights ago. He should have told him he wasn't interested, and then he'd be safe, and his secret would be safe too. It was too dangerous. He should never have allowed himself to get that close to them. He should get away while he still can.

Before he could panic any further and attempt to run, Kili took his hand again, a reassuring smile on his lips.

“Don't freak out, Ori. I don't really care that you've had others before me. It rather works in my favour in the end, doesn't it?”

Ori tried to smile back. Past lovers. They were talking about _past lovers_. That was _safe_. Safer than being in love with both your partner and his brother, anyway. He managed to play on that, to make it sound like he was worried his past experience could be a topic of quarrel. Kili seemed convinced, and assured him he really didn't mind, but Fili seemed more doubtful. Thank the Maker, Ori was soon saved by the arrival of Dwalin, who came to sit with them, and proved to be the perfect way to distract Fili.

 

* * *

 

Ori's plan to make sure to have Fili busy with a lover of his own worked rather well during the few days they spent in Rivendell. They barely saw Fili and Dwalin during their stay there, and when the pair did appear, it was clear to all that they had done a good deal more than talking. They soon became the talk of the whole Company, whereas Ori and Kili, who usually managed to be more discreet, did not have to face a single comment.

And all was well.

Until they left the elves' valley, and started for the mountain. It was not only the end of privacy, but also the end of being away from Fili. For while Ori had soon gone back to his old habit of walking next to Dwalin, the warrior had ideas of his own, and made them walk with Kili (which was nice) and Fili (which was distressing).

When he forgot to be nervous, Ori rather enjoyed the way things were. The chatted and exchanged stories, Dwalin helped them train with his hammer, Fili showed off his skill with his swords, and Kili told jokes that were so awfully bad that all of them laughed every time.

Ori's job in their little group was to tell stories. He had started with old stories that they all knew (he avoided the fall of Erebor and the battle of Azanulbizar, for obvious reasons), but as the days went by he had moved to other things, that he had read from books or heard from humans. Some were war stories about the elves and those three jewels of theirs. Others were loves stories, because he had always rather liked those and remembered them well. He had felt very daring when he had told them a human romance he had always liked, about a maid who was courted by two brothers, and had chosen to live with both of them rather than to pick one.

“Nice story,” Fili had said after he was done. “I rather expected it to end tragically, with the brothers killing each others. These things rarely end well in stories.”

“Do you think they end better in real life?” Ori had asked in what he hoped to be a casual tone.

“Why not? If all parties involved are... willing to make an effort. I've met humans who lived like that. They seemed happy enough.”

“I've met _dwarves_ living like that,” Dwalin said with a sad smile. “Friends of mine. Not one of them survived Azanulbizar. Probably for the best. It was the three of them, or neither. Would have been cruel to separate them.”

“I thought dwarves didn't share,” Ori protested out of surprise. “How could it work?”

“Just the way Fili said, with some effort from everyone, and a lot of _communication_ from all parties involved. And dwarves _can_ share, just as much as any race, laddie. It's just that stories are a lot more fun when everyone dies stupidly because they couldn't _talk_ about things properly.”

They all laughed at that, except Ori, who was deep in thought.

* * *

 

“What's going on with the prince then,” Nori asked the night before they entered the mountain.

Ori and him were on watch duty together. The younger dwarf would have preferred to be with Kili, but Thorin had decided otherwise.

“Which prince?”

“The one you want to talk about first, we'll go over both. I can pick one for you, if it makes it easier. What's the deal with Kili?”

“Nothing.”

“You lie like Dori, kid.”

Ori blushed. “I... it's not entirely impossible that Kili and I, we are... involved?”

Nori nodded. He didn't seem surprised. Ori wasn't sure his brother could ever be surprised anyway.

“You and Kili... good match, that. You're cousins of course, but since you're no girl, that's not a problem. I'll talk to Dori, if you want me to.”

“Thank you. I'd rather wait a little, but thank you.”

“Don't thank me yet, kid. I'm going to ask you about Fili now. If you're involved with Kili, why do you look at his brother that way?”

For a second or two, Ori thought of lying, of denying everything. But you didn't lie to Nori, because he always _knew_ it. And really, if anyone was able to give him advice without judging him, then it was his older brother.

So Ori told him everything. His long fascination for the brothers, both of them, how Kili had approached him, why he had tried to push Fili in Dwalin's arms to get rid of his feelings, and what a failure _that_ had proved to be.

“I don't know what to do,” he concluded miserably. “I thought I could be happy with just Kili. I _would_ be, if only Fili wasn't always so... present. But it's... it's Kili-and-Fili, and it will always be, they'll always be together and I can't change that, and... do... do you think I should end it?”

“Dori would tell you to.”

“Good think it's not Dori I'm talking to, then.”

Nori grinned. “Indeed. But to answer your question... I don't know what you should do. I only know this: as far as I remember, you've always looked like a terrified bunny whenever people talked to you, but you no longer do. Maybe it's just that we are on this quest, of course. But I think it also has to do with your little princes, both of them. They're good for you. A pretty pair of idiots, but good for you.”

“But what if I do something stupid one day?”

“You'll deal with it when it happens. I heard the elves say there are goblins again in the Misty Mountains, you might not have the time to do something stupid before you die.”

“You are _so_ reassuring, No. Almost as much as Dori, sometimes.”

“Ah, but I am using it to encourage you to _get laid_ , little brother,” Nori replied with a smirk. “Now that's not something you're likely to hear from Dori, is it?”

They both laughed at that idea, until someone (probably Oin) grumbled that some of them were trying to sleep.

Ori felt a good deal less scared after that.

 

* * *

 

He hated the mountains. The weather had been so nice in the plains, but high up it was cold and wet and windy and cold. So cold that Dori insisted to have Nori and Ori sleep with him, to stay warm, he claimed.

As if Ori couldn't have been just as warm, if not warmer, sleeping with the princes and Dwalin. But that would have meant explaining things to his oldest brother, and he felt the Misty Mountains really weren't the place for that. At least, Dwalin made sure Kili and him often kept watch together, and Ori was ever so grateful to him for that. They could never do more than hold hands and steal a few kisses, which was awfully frustrating now that they'd had more.

Not that they had that much time to think of such things, honestly. The path wasn't an easy one, even in the best of weathers, but in the dreadful rain that started on their first night there, every step could lead to certain death.

And _that_ was before Stone Giants decided to have a battle around them, and Ori was almost crushed to death by one of the rocky idiots falling against a mountain while they were on its knee. His whole life flashed before his eyes. It mostly consisted of reading or copying books, or looking at the princes from a distance, and his last thought has the mountain got closer was that at least, he'd also die with them.

But they survived.

Ori was glad of that. Living with his princes was a lot nicer than dying with them, honestly.

Still, he had been terribly tempted to join them that night. It felt awfully unfair that Dwalin could be with them, and he couldn't. But one look at Dori had told him it wouldn't be a good idea to slip away in the middle of the night to be with his lover. His oldest brother seemed too affected by what had happened, it would have been cruel to do that to him.

And then, the goblins had happened.

It had all been a bit of a blur. The fall into the mountain had awoken Ori, certainly, but he was working on reflex more than conscious decisions at he tried to fight off the creatures and to resist them. He knew something was wrong, and even half-asleep, he recognised goblins and knew they were bad, but he couldn't register anything more.

Not until someone said something about _starting with the youngest_ , and suddenly there were a lot more goblins around him, and everyone looked at him with horrified eyes. Kili in particular was fighting the creatures holding him, while all Ori could do was look up at the Goblin King and wonder what exactly was going on, and how likely it was that he'd die before the end of the night.

Not likely, he thought when Thorin stepped forward to protect him.

Very likely, he decided when the Goblin King snapped and ordered they were all to be killed on the spot.

Fifty-fifty, he hoped as Gandalf appeared and they were given a chance to fight back. The race through the tunnel was as much of a blur as the rest, but it was probably for the best. Ori was almost sure he'd have been terrified if he had realized what was going on, whereas like this, he was just doing his best to save his life and that of his companions.

* * *

 

Being again in the fresh air felt like the best thing Ori had ever known. Having Kili run to his side and take his hand as soon as they all felt they were far enough from the mountain to stop and breathe was the cherry on top of it all.

“I thought you were going to die,” the young prince whispered. “I thought they were going to...”

Ori didn't answer, but squeezed his hand slightly, hoping it would express the things for which he didn't trust his voice at the moment.

“Stay with us now, Ori,” Fili ordered behind them. “We'll protect you.”

“I can protect myself, thank you very much,” the young dwarf protested, feeling rather offended.

“We _want_ to protect ye,” Dwalin replied. “And we'll be counting on ye to protect us too, laddie.”

Ori nodded. “We have a deal.”

Fili grinned, Dwalin smiled, and Kili quickly kissed his cheek while nobody was looking.

This, Ori thought, was perfect happiness.

* * *

 

How he went from that feeling of belonging, of being part of something, to hanging from Dori's leg above a cliff, Ori wasn't entirely certain.

What he was sure of was that he was going to die. They were all going to die, but he'd probably be first.

He still couldn't regret joining that quest. Not when he'd met so many different dwarves and been accepted by them, not when he'd discovered such a great friend in Dwalin, not when Fili too had been friendly to him, not when he'd kissed and made love to Kili.

He had no regrets. He just wished it could have lasted a little longer.

 

* * *

 

Once they were all on the Carrock, everyone's first worry was about Thorin, who had suffered several injuries. But once their king was safe and sound, and busy fondling their burglar (about time too, really), Ori was pulled in Kili's arms and kissed until he could hardly breathe.

He ought to have protested, because this was supposed to be a secret dammit, and he wasn't ready to tell Dori who would kill him if he learned that he had acted so shamefully. Instead he broke into tears. He had almost died. He had felt the moment when Dori's hand had slipped from Gandalf's staff, he had seen the ground coming closer, the tree moving further away, while his stomach clenched and the wind made it almost impossible to breathe.

He cried against Kili's shoulder, and he felt he had a right to it.

When he managed to calm down a little, it wasn't just him and Kili any more. Dwalin and Fili had joined them and the four of them were sharing an awkward embrace. It felt right, somehow.

“I'll start thinking ye're looking for death, laddie,” Dwalin grumbled, ruffling his hair. “Don't do that again.”

“It was hardly _my_ fault, you know. But I'll... I'll be careful.”

“Yes, please,” Kili sobbed, tightening his hold on his lover and kissing his forehead. “It's hard enough with uncle alone to mind, if you start being as reckless as he is, I'll get white hair before the end of this quest.”

 

* * *

 

Gandalf had a friend living not far away. Or not a friend as such, but someone he had heard of, and who was a friend of that strange fellow with the rabbit whom they had met after the trolls. At any other time, it would have been a little suspicious, but they were all tired and starving, and Thorin quickly agreed to it.

Bruised and exhausted as they all were, it wasn't easy to get down the great rock upon which the eagles had left them, but they still managed. Once they were down, they rested a little, until morning. Nori, the first to awake, found a small lake not far, and though it meant a small delay on their road to Gandalf's friend's house, they all agreed that they needed to wash, if only to check on their injuries. Dori tried to keep his youngest brother with him, but Nori managed to distract him, and Ori was able to slip away to join Dwalin and the princes. The four of them helped one another washing, and if Ori spent a little more time than he ought to on Fili's back, well, it was just because the older prince had such awful bruises there, and Dwalin was busy inspecting a cut on Kili's arm.

He wasn't doing anything wrong, really.

And Fili certainly didn't seem to mind at all, even complimenting him about the softness of his hands.

Admittedly, that made Ori blush a little. Saying something like that could have been mistaken for flirting, if Fili hadn't been his lover's brother, and the lover of his closest friend. And even like that, really, the grin on the prince's lips had been... more predatory than it should have been.

 

* * *

 

Gandalf's friend was a giant of a man called Beorn who turned out to be very friendly once he had heard their story. He offered them beds for the night, food, and mead, for which they all thanked him profusely. They hadn't had such a fine feast since Rivendell, or even since their night at Bag-End, since the elves' food had not been nearly as nice as Beorn's honey cakes and cream.

Ori stuffed himself with everything he could grab, pointedly ignoring the way Dori glared at him for his bad manners. Manners could go to hell when there was so much good food to eat, after days of fasting and so many terrible emotions.

He also drank a lot, probably more than he should have. He was not used to the sweetness of mead, and it hardly felt like drinking alcohol at all. So he drank bowl after bowl of the beverage, until he was giggling with Kili and claiming that he would love to snog Fili in one of the dark corners of that big house.

He drank so much that he did just that, while everyone had gone to sit around the fire to sing.

It was far from perfect (he was drunk and clumsy and kept giggling at everything) but it was still better than he would have dared to imagine.

 

* * *

 

The morning after was a real horror.

He could have survived the headache, the feeling that trolls had relieved themselves in his mouth, and the impression that his dinner was trying to escape his stomach.

But the guilt of having made out with _Fili,_ and in public too, might kill him.

Or so he hoped at least. Dying seemed like such a tempting option at that moment. After all it was dying or facing the others, and honestly the first one seemed a lot nicer. Or maybe he could just run away, go back home. Anything to never have to see the look of disappointment and hurt that Kili would have after such a betrayal. His heart clenched just to think of it. He should never have allowed himself to get close to the princes, he had known it could only end badly, he had known...

“Hello there, sleepy head,” came Kili's voice, right behind him. “How are you feeling this morning? If the answer is _awful_ , then you more than deserve it, love.”

Ori tensed, ready for the accusations to come.

They didn't.

Instead, Kili slipped a hand around his waist and kissed him just above the ear.

“I did try to warn you that you shouldn't drink so much,” the prince teased him gently. “You're going to feel like shit all day now, and we won't even be able to take advantage that we're finally somewhere where privacy is an option. I am quite cross at you, you know.”

“Sorry,” Ori mumbled weakly. “I am _so_ sorry, I _swear_.”

“I was joking,” Kili replied with a laugh, kissing his brow. “Mahal, you seem in a worse state than I imagined. How about I get you some water, hm? And maybe you should eat something. Most of the others are having breakfast now, we should join them before there's nothing left.”

Gathering all his courage, Ori turned to face his lover. Kili seemed a little worried maybe, but there was no trace of anger on his face.

“I'm so sorry,” Ori repeated anyway. “For last night.”

“You drank too much,” Kili said with a soft laugh. “That happens, love. Come on, let's get you some water and food now.”

Ori looked carefully at his lover's face, to find only honest concern and affection in the other's eyes. Which meant that Kili didn't know. Yet.

He'd have to tell him, of course, before he learnt it from Fili or Dwalin. But maybe, just maybe, that could wait until after breakfast.

 

* * *

 

Fili and Dwalin were already at the table.

Ori tensed when he saw them, but they didn't say a thing, and treated him as if nothing had happened.

Of course, since Oin, Dori, Bombur and Thorin were there too, they probably didn't want to make a scandal. So Ori drank a large bowl of water, and endured quietly as everyone teased him about his hangover.

 

* * *

 

As soon as they were done eating, Ori asked the other three to follow him outside. They shared a surprised look, but agreed and went with him. He took them a little way from the house (no need to risk anyone finding them or eavesdropping), and once he thought he had found a safe place, he turned to them, took a deep breath, and started talking.

“I must apologize for my horrible behaviour yesterday,” he declared, fidgeting with his scarf. “I... I know Kili doesn't seem to remember it, but I still... and I don't know if you two remember either actually, to be honest, but I'll... well, honest is what I have to be, see? So I... I kissed Fili yesterday. I... I know I shouldn't have, and I'm ever so sorry, and...”

He was interrupted by the sound of Fili's snigger.

“Told you he wouldn't remember,” the blond prince told his brother. “With everything he's drunk last night, that's no surprise. Oh, don't look at me like that, Ori. Of course we knew you had kissed me! You think I'd forget that, honestly?”

“Shouldn't you be angry, though?” the scholar asked, feeling more than a little lost. “Kili, you should be furious! Why... why aren't you...”

“Well, I did give the whole thing my blessing,” the younger prince answered with a laugh. “What, you really don't recall the four of us talking about it? You said you wanted to kiss Fili, and I said sure, as long as I got to watch. And Dwalin was fine with it too, weren't you?”

The warrior nodded. “It was a nice little show, really.”

“You saw us?” Ori squealed, horrified. “You _watched_ us?”

“Well, of course he did,” Fili said, looking doubtful. “It was... you said last night you wanted it, and you... you've been acting like you wanted that for a while now, haven't you? Or... was it just the mead speaking?”

The blond prince looked sincerely worried, as did Dwalin and Kili.

Ori hesitated. He had never taken the time to consider the idea that something like that could happen. Both of his princes wanting him? Even in his wildest dreams, he barely _dared_ to imagine such a thing. And yet there they were, the two of them. And Dwalin too, as an added bonus, accepting the situation, and oh, was that his _hand_ on Kili's _back_?

He ought to have felt jealous, seeing his friend touching his lover like that.

He ought to.

He didn't.

“I sincerely don't remember a single thing we discussed last night,” he admitted, and the other three's faces fell at that, so he quickly continued. “I'm not saying I mind! It... it wasn't just the mead, I've... wanted that for a while, it's true, and... well. Did we... discuss more than kissing? And... and did we mention the possibility of... I don't know, doing that again, but once sober? Because I don't... I haven't got much memories of last night, but Fili, I swear I'm usually _much_ better than that.”

“So my brother says,” Fili replied with a wide grin. “And you appear to be sober enough right now, right?”

Ori nodded quickly, and in two strides, Fili was on him, kissing him fiercely, so different from what it was with Kili and yet strangely similar.

Near them, the young scholar vaguely noticed that Dwalin had taken Kili in his arms and that the two of them were watching them, exchanging small touches that grew more insistent as the kiss went on.

He realized that he didn't mind. That, if anything, it made the kiss all the more nicer.

Dwarves were greedy, possessive and jealous.

Dwarves didn't _share_.

But apparently, _they_ did.


End file.
